Israel rebukes New York Times, CNN, Reuters and Associated Press over photographers attacking Hamas – Politico

Israel on Thursday criticized four international media outlets – The New York Times, CNN, The Associated Press and Reuters – over the behavior of four photojournalists in Gaza, saying they had advance knowledge of the attack carried out by Hamas activists on October 7 that killed more than 1,400 people. . the people.

News outlets strongly rejected accusations that the Israeli government had any advance warning of the impending deadly attack, with the New York Times saying the “outrageous” accusations put journalists in both Israel and Gaza at risk.

Communications Minister Shlomo accused foreign media haters of hiring contributors who obtained information about Hamas attacks. He added: “We have learned that some individuals within your organization, including photographers and others, had prior knowledge of these horrific acts and may have maintained a disturbing relationship with the perpetrators.” books On X.

The director of the Israeli government press office, Nitzan Chen, wrote to the heads of the offices of the four organizations in Israel requesting clarification regarding the behavior of four photographers amid the attack by Hamas gunmen.

The Israeli letter, seen by Politico, accused photojournalists who worked with the publications of reaching Israel’s borders “along with Hamas terrorists, documenting the killing of Israeli civilians, the summary execution of soldiers and kidnappings in Gaza” and demanded a response to the “disturbing situation.” “The findings” were published on Wednesday by a pro-Israel NGO.

Israel’s request for clarification came after A a report Through honest reporting. The most serious question posed by the NGO was whether the photographers knew that the attack was planned, so they were ready on Saturday morning in order to track Hamas fighters at close range.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office went further on the issue of whether journalists should be chronicling crimes rather than trying to stop them, saying journalists are “accomplices in crimes against humanity.” Israeli centrist leader Benny Gantz, a member of Netanyahu’s war cabinet, said that journalists who were at the scene of the massacre but “still chose to stand as spectators while children were slaughtered – are no different from terrorists and should be treated as such.”

Two of the four photojournalists whose names first appeared under AP photo credits also worked as freelance photographers for CNN and the New York Times, the NGO report said. Reuters published photos of two other photojournalists who were also on the border when the Hamas infiltration began.

The Israeli government press office published it on Thursday Statement on X He accused the four photographers of crossing “all professional and ethical red lines” by breaching the border fence into Israel with militants, photographing the killing of civilians, assaulting corpses, and kidnapping men and women.

The media responded

Later on Thursday, Reuters, AP And New York times It issued statements denying that it had any prior knowledge of the October 7 attacks.

Reuters specifically responded to the idea that it had a photojournalist embedded with Hamas. It said it obtained photos from “two Gaza-based freelance photographers who were at the border on the morning of October 7,” and that the agency had no previous relationship with either of them.

Reuters added that the photos published by Reuters were taken two hours after Hamas fired rockets across southern Israel and more than 45 minutes after Israel announced that gunmen had crossed the border. Reuters added that its journalists “were not on the ground in the aforementioned locations.” In the Honest Reports article.

The Associated Press said, “He had no knowledge of the October 7 attacks before they occurred. The first photos the AP received from any independent journalists show they were taken more than an hour after the attacks began. No AP staff were at the border at the time of the attacks, and no AP staff crossed the border at any time.“

She added that the agency “is no longer working with Hassan Islaiah,” one of the photographers mentioned in the report, “who worked independently at times for the Associated Press and other international news organizations in Gaza.” Honest Reporting contains a photo of a smiling Islaya being kissed by Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

The New York Times described these accusations as “untrue” and “outrageous” because they put “journalists on the ground in Israel and Gaza at risk.” She also criticized Honest Reporting for making “vague allegations against several freelance photojournalists working in Gaza, including Yousef Masoud,” explaining that Masoud “was not working for The Times on the day of the attack,” but did “important work” for the newspaper. Publishing.

CNN did not issue any statement about the report. But the Israeli network Ynet quoted her as saying that she had cut ties with Islaya.

A CNN spokesperson was quoted as saying: “We are aware of the article and photo relating to Hassan Islaia, a freelance photojournalist who has worked with a number of international and Israeli media outlets.” Ynet. He added: “Although we have at this time found no reason to doubt the journalistic accuracy of the work he has done for us, we have decided to suspend all relations with him.”